As English has been recognized for its crucial function for facilitating communication around the global, much effort has been devoted by the Education Department and school teachers to enhance our students’ English proficiency levels and foster their learning motivation. As theories in second language acquisition propose that direct experiences with the target language are beneficial to acquire it (Krashen, 1985; Long, 1996; Swain, 2005), there is no doubt that using English regularly is the key to the success of learning English.Aiming to provide more opportunities for elementary school students to use English in a natural way, the English Teaching and Learning Resources Center specifically held a “Fun English Activity” and designed a variety of daily conversation activities using the different settings located in the Hsinchu English Learning Center, where students were able to use English to achieve communication purposes by being immerged in places like an airport, a library, a restaurant, etc. A total of 152 students from 28 public elementary schools in our city took part in the activity.

There were a range of highlights in the activity. To start with, for the purpose of creating the atmosphere of a global village, eight native English-speaking foreign teachers who were teaching at 12 elementary schools and one junior high school in Hsinchu City were invited to host different sections of the activity. In different settings at the Hsinchu English Learning Center, the teachers played designated roles, such as a travel agent, a house keeper, a librarian, or a supermarket cashier, and carried on contextual conversations with individual students. During the conversations, the students needed to comprehend the content of dialogues and look for relevant information from the settings before they responded to the foreign teachers. By fully making use of resources in the settings where the students were, both the students and teachers underwent contextual conversation in a meaningful way.

In addition, for the sake of students’ preparation for the activity, the English Teaching and Learning Resources Center set up a website especially for the activity (https://sites.google.com/site/103englishactivity), digitalized all learning materials, and uploaded them to the website. Thus, the students were able to have access to the materials and learn them at their own convenience without the constraints of time and space. They could fully prepare themselves before they were engaged in the activity. What’s more, the website functioned as a registration platform where all schools could sign up their students. By doing so, it was environment-friendly by reducing the amount of paper usedand was also highly efficient in terms of administrative processing.

Another significant feature in the activity was theintegration of mobile devices. The students had to use application softwareprograms on iPads to answer some of the teacher’s questions. The students learned how to collaboratively and harmoniously use iPads to seek correct answers. The use of Apps for the activity also helped the activity go smoothly by reminding the students of where the next section of the activity was and when to proceed to it. Moreover, for numerous students, it was their first time to use an iPad. The activity provided an opportunity for them to get in touch with the latest technology.
After the activity, the students enthusiastically offered positive feedback about the activity and eagerly expressed their willingness to participate in it again. Here are some excerpts from the students’ feedback:

“I was very happy to be selected to take part in the activity. I thought it would be boring, but I was totally wrong. My teacher told me that the activity was not frequently held. I was so lucky that I could attend it.”(Nei-Hu Primary School)

“The activity was very interesting. It was not so bad to talk to foreigners.”(Qing-Cao-Hu Primary School)

“So fun. The settings were very authentic. What’s better, we could use iPad.”(Hu-Lin Primary School)

“I thought that the activity was interesting and meaningful because I could” have more time to interact with foreign teachers. (Yang-Guang Primary School)

“I was very happy to attend the activity. I hope that I can have another chance to participate in the activity.”(Hsin-Chu Primary School)

“I am thankful for giving me such a good chance to learn English. In the activity, I learned a lot and had a good time.”(San-Min Primary School)

“I thought the activity was interesting. And it was so fun to collaborate with my teammates.”(San-Min Primary School)

“The content of the conversations was very practical. We can use it in our daily life.”(Chao-Shan Primary School)

“From the activity, I not only realized the importance of English but also gained more confidence in English.”(Xi-Men Primary School)

“By participating in the activity, I became more courageous to speak out English.”(Jiu-She Primary School)

“I thought the activity was very engaging. The content was very rich. I hope I can take part in it several times.”(Da-Zhuang Primary School)

“During the activity, I was able to interact with the foreign teachers, which helped me become more confident in learning English. I hope there are more activities like it.”(Nan-Ai Primary School)

“I thought the activity was very attractive. We could use the context to learn how to use English to communicate with foreigners. Therefore, we don’t need to worry too much about going abroad.”(Bei-Men Primary School)

“By joining the activity, I learned a lot of vocabulary and felt that learning English can be fun.”(Zai-Xi Primary School)

“I thought that I learned several dialogs I never used before from the activity. So I love it very much.”(Dong-Yuan Primary School)

This activity cannot be successful without the strong support of the schools whose students attended the activity, the local and foreign teachers who assisted the activity, and student volunteers at Chien Hua Junior High School. The English Teaching and Learning Resources Center coordinated by the Education Department and Chien Hua Junior High School will continue to promote more excellent, useful opportunities for teachers and students. In the coming December, there will be more “Fun” in the “English Activity” at the Hsinchu English Language Center. We are looking forward to seeing you then.

References:

• Krashen, S.D. (1985), The Input Hypothesis: Issues and Implications, New York: Longman
• Long, Michael (1996). The role of the linguistic environment in second language acquisition. In Ritchie, W. C., & Bhatia, T. K. (Eds.) Handbook of second language acquisition(pp.413-468). San Diego: Academic Press.
• Swain, M. (2005). The output hypothesis: Theory and research. In E. Hinkel (Ed.). Handbook of Research in Second Language Teaching and Learning (pp. 471-483). Mahwa, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Photos

The students were discussing answers by means of iPad	The student was ordering something delicious in a restaurant
The students were shopping at a grocery store	The student was explaining his daily activity at home